Drawer-locking device



B. MQHAMLIN.' DRAWER LOCKING DEVICE.

' I APPLICATION FILED OCT 25,1920. 11,379,977. Patented May 31,1921.

4 r. r//M S @Y Q, Sc

y:smv M. HAMLIN, or cn'rciieo,

.companion onIcAGo, ILLINoIs, A coRronA'rrov onILLINoIs. f, f l

v 'f .DRAWER-nomine DEVICE.'V` f citizen of the United States, anda resident of Chicago, Cook county, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drawer- Locking Devices,

of which the following isfdeclared tobe a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relatesv to drawer locking devices `and in the present instance it has been illustrated as applied to the drawers of wardrobe trunks, although itis to be un,- derstood that my'invention isY not to be limited thereto. p

The principal object of the present invention is to provide means for locking a tier of drawers, vcontrolled by one of the drawers, whereby when saidv controlling drawer is locked, all of the others will be secured against withdrawal and when the controlling drawer` is unlocked, all of the others will be freegto'be opened. e

This invention vcontemplates drawers at places adjacent theirside edges asto permit their withdrawal, and onle of the'objects ofthis invention is to dispense with separatev lockingmeans, jother than thatof one drawer, for holding said strips in locking engagement with the drawers. Another object is to simplify,'cheapen and otherwise improve on drawer locking devices of this character, and with all of said objects in view, this invention'consists in the several novel features hereinafter fully set forth and claimed. e

This invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which z- Figure 1 is a front elevation of thedrawer section and a fragment of the garment section of a wardrobe trunk, showing a simple embodiment `of the present invention ap-` lied thereto; Fig. 2 is a detail, horizontal, fragmental vsection taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the drawer partly open; Fig. 4 is a front elevation of one of the upper corners of the drawer section and'Fig. 5 is adetail, vertical section taken on line 5 5 of Y eferring to said drawing; which illustrates a simple embodiment of the invention applied to the drawer section of a wardrobe trunk the reference character 10 designates Specification of Lettersv'gate'nt. `r

the use-of strips extending `parallel Awith a' tier of 254 [and capable of overlapping'the drawers so j ratenutedjnay 31,51921.

Application filed-October 25, 1920. Serial' No. 419,308.L

Wardrobe section j of a* wardrobe l tr'unkiof ordinary construction, these 'parts Vbein hinged together lalong a-yertical' line and having locking means (not shown)- for s`e curing them togetherwas is i usual. AThe drawer section 10 comprises a box-like 'casing 12, 1n which is supported' a tier of drawers 15,16, by partitions,l strips or`cleatjsf14lseicured to the sides ofthe casing' vasifis,customary. Handles on "thei front' `wallsfof the drawers are provided'tofacilitatejtheir with drawaL The ordinaljyvalanceil'iis 'secured alongthe edge portion of the casing asv is` customary.v v f p vf Extending along' the front ledgesj-=` of the two side walls 18 of thek casing 1r2l`are two' drawer retaining members 19, preferably made of thin flat .metal strips,'and said strips are each of suilicient length to feztendjalong the entire tier of drawers.. Said strips maybe secured to the side wallsf18'of the'casing 12 portions of the drawers,as shownin Figs. l

i the drawer section and 11a the A' .Soif and 2, to therebyprevent withdrawalof the L drawers, and they may be; swung aw'aygfromf l the drawers, fas .shownV in fFig. 3, .wherebyA the drawers areza'free'fsto' be?.with'dravviifoi?A pushed back into thecasingi For holding both of said strips 19 in locking engagement with said drawers, oneJ of the drawers, for instance the uppermost y one, has projecting members 21,21, that are arranged to engageover vthe strips 19, when said upper drawer is fully closed, to thereby hold the vstrips in locking engagement-with the remaining drawers. Said projecting member 21 may comprise short lstrips secured to the front face of the drawer 15 andl having parts -that project beyond' the ends thereof, in position to lengage Vover the y drawer retaining strips 19, whensaid drawer 15 is fullyclosed. -In this instance the lock controlled drawer 15 is made narrower than'y the drawers 16. p. y f

The drawer. 15 is the controlling drawer, that is to say, it is the one that locks or unlocks the other'drawers ofthe tier. A key lock 22 is secured to said drawer 15 and its bolt 23 vengages with akeeper 24 secured to the underside of the top member 25 of the. cabinet 12.

In use and :assuming that the tier of drawers is locked, to unlock them the proper 23 withdrawn from the keeper 24. The top l key is inserted in the lock 22 and the bolt drawer is partly withdrawn and any of the other drawers may tlien be opened, as the strips 19 are rreadily swung outward,

either by pulling out a drawer or' by swingy ing themout before a drawer is opened. To lock the tier of drawers, the lower ones are closed, the strips 19 are swung back against them and the lock controlled drawer closed and locked. The strips 19 are now positively held in 4overlapping position, in front of the tier of drawers .by the projecting jmembers 21 of the lock controlling drawer 15. Y

IThe inventionv may also be applied to other cabinets, cases or the like, containing atier of drawers, 'but it is particularly adaptedl to withstand the usual rough usage to whichftrunks are put.

More lor less variation of the exact de tails of construction is possible without departing from the'spirit of this invention; I desire, therefore, not to limit mysel to the exact form oi the construction shown and described, but intend, in the 'following claims,vto point outv all of the invention disclosed herein.

Ip claim as new, and desire tol secure by Letters Patent:

' 1. Means for locking a tier otv drawers in a cabinet, one drawer of which is lock controlled, comprising two drawer retaining members hingedly connected to the front of said cabinet and arranged when in oplerative position to overlap drawers of the tier, aiid means fixedlyV connected with the lock controlled drawer engaging with said drawery retaining members and acting to hold said drawer retaining members in operative position overlapping the drawers when said lock controlled drawer is closed. 2. Means for locking 'a tier of drawers in a cabinet, one drawer of whichiis lock cone trolled, comprising two drawer retaining members hingedly secured to the cabinet and arranged when in operative position to overlap'drawers or' `the tier and means fixediy connected with the lock controlled drawer, overlapping said drawer retaining members and acting to hold said drawer re'- taining members in operative position when said drawer is closed. 1

3*. Means or looking a tier of drawers in a cabinet, one drawer of which is lock conHV trolled, comprising two drawerk retaining strips hingedly secured to the cabinet and arranged when'in operative position to lock the drawers of the tier, other than the lock controlled drawer, andr strip engaging members connected with and projecting from the lock controlled drawer, yoverlapping said drawer retaining strips and acting to hold said drawer retaining'strips in operative position when the said lock controlled drawer is closed. n a i 4. In a wardrobe trunk a combination of a cabinet and a tier of drawers slidably supported therein, one drawer of which is narrower than the others and is lock controlled, two retaining strips hingedly securedto said cabinet and extending past the tier of drawers and arranged to overlap the drawers of the tier other than the lock controlled drawer, strip holding members secured to the lock Ycontrolled drawer projecting therefrom and arranged to overlap said retaining strips and thereby hold them in position overlapping said other drawers. i

' BEN M. HAMLIN. 

